Cipher key setting system, access point, and cipher key setting method

Abstract

Disclosed is a cipher key setting system wherein the access point detects the terminals connected to the wireless LAN through the access point itself repeatedly at each predetermined time, reviews the adopted cipher systems when there are replacements of the terminals participating in the wireless LAN and a decrease in the number of the terminals, and adopts a cipher system according to the guideline ‘selecting the cipher system of the highest security level among the cipher systems that the devices building up the network can commonly adopt’. The system prevents the security setting from being maintained at a needlessly low level, after a certain terminal withdrew from the network or after some terminals were replaced.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a cipher key setting system, an access point, and a cipher key setting method. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] To build up a communication network with an access point being a repeater for a wireless LAN needs to attain a high security level of the network, which prevents fraudulent intrusion into the network and the leakage of communication data to a third party and so forth. Accordingly, various security techniques on the wireless LAN have been disclosed thus far. [0005] For example, a technique is proposed which utilizes MAC (Media Access Control) addresses being inherent identification numbers assigned in advance to wireless LAN interfacing devices (for example, wireless LAN adapters) mounted on terminals. This technique registers the MAC addresses to an access point, makes the access point authenticate the MAC addresses accompanied with the accesses from the term...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] According to a third aspect of the invention, the connected terminal detecting means specifies the terminals participating in the wireless LAN repeatedly at each predetermined time on the basis of identification information inherent in the terminals each, compares the specified identification information inherent in the terminals each with the identification information inherent in the terminals each that were acquired by a previous specifying operation of the terminals, and thereby detects that the number of the terminals participating in the wireless LAN decreases.

[0032] In the ninth aspect of the invention constructed as the above, when it becomes impossible to maintain the wireless communication with the access point based on the specified station ID, the cipher system selecting means on the terminal side newly acquires the station IDs from the connectable access points. And when the newly acquired station IDs have a station ID coincident with the station IDs stored in advance, the terminal adopts the cipher system and the cipher key corresponding to the station ID. In other words, when there have been variations in the adopted cipher systems due to a decrease of the number of the terminals participating in the wireless LAN or due to replacements of the terminals, the access point does not need to notify the newly adopted cipher systems and so forth to the terminals that intend to maintain the wireless communications. It is possible to automatically follow up the variations in the cipher systems on the terminal side, which will relieve troublesomeness of the maintenance and prevent lowering of the security.

Problems solved by technology

However, the invention described in the application leaves technical problems as follows.

In consequence, after a terminal withdraws from the network, there remains a problem that the security environments cannot necessarily be optimized between wireless LAN devices participating in the network.

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